Electrical wiring device



Dec. 25, 1945. A. M. GEIST ETAL ELECTRICAL WIRING DEVICE Filed Jan. 24, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet l s m, M i ewf Z i i@ J e a. Ey

` Dec. 25, 1945. A. M. GElsT ErAL ELECTRICAL WIRING DEVICE Filed Jan. 24, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ezls Dez MPa/els Patented Dee. as, 194s *UNITED STATES PATENT ori-'lcs ELECTRICAL WIRING'v DEVICE sie! u. Gem and Bex n. winners, Lincoln, Nebr.

Application January 24, 1944, serial N. s19.424

(ci. iss-75) Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in electrical wiring devices and particularly has to do with prefabricated or partially prefabricated floor ducts of a type embodying structural characteristics which render the devices useful on exposed floor areas or for concealment beneath rugs or other floor coverings.

Considerable diillculty and expense frequently is incurred in arranging electrical conductors on smooth surfaces, such as floors, because of the requirement that such conductors be adequately protected against'damage which might result from being struck by objects moved across the surface. I'his usually has resulted in the need to embed the conductors permanently in the floor; a practice which is often quite costly and the results of which are far from satisfactory because of the inadequacy of the patching made necessary and further because, once installed, the conductors cannot be easily and quickly removed and relocated elsewhere. Moreover, where conduits or the like are laid upon a floor to accommodate electrical conductors, and such conduits project above the door, these conduits are unsightly, interfere with the transportation of devices across the door, am are otherwise objectionable. It is, therefore, an object of our invention to enable electrical conductors to be directed over a surface, such as a floor, in such manner as to be fully protected against injury 3 and yet enable devices to be readily moved over the protection afforded for the conductors and` to also avoid other objections to devices of the character heretofore employed .to protect electrical conductors laid upon a. floor or other surface.

Furthermore, in instances where electrical conductors of a kind known as extension cords are extended along a floor to accommodate'various electrical appliances such as, for example, lamps or electrical appliances, a floor covering such as a rug frequently is often laid thereover. While a floor coveringtends to protect the conductors against damage resulting from moving of objects thereadross, its presence beneath the iloor covering is objectionable from the standpoint of appearance because its path beneath the door covering is clearly outlined by a rather prominent bulge or ridge. Should `the floor covering be of a kind which is relatively stii and likely to crack unless retained flat, the laying,l of such conductors ltherebeneisith is prevented. It therefore is another object of this invention to provide a. duct for electrical conductors which is particularly adapted to be laid beneath a iloor covering in such manner as to prevent unsightly or otherwise objectionable bulges or ridges in said covering. i

Prior known attempts to overcome the objectionable characteristics of electrical-conductors as outlined hereinabove have resulted in the development of relatively wide fiat conductors sheathed in rubber, but these also are objectionable because of the tendency of the rubber sheath to iatten under pressure and ultimately become hardened 'and iinally crack and break under stress with the result that the conductors therein `become exposed and short circuits occur. It is, therefore, a further object of the present invention to provide a duct for electrical conductors which is suitably fabricated of material which will not only retain the shape required to protect the electrical conductors therein against damage but which will not readily-crack, breakl or otherwise deteriorate to an extent that will expose the electrical conductors.

Other known types of ducts or conductors of the kind adapted to be arranged beneath or over a door covering usually are prefabricated and made available in excessive lengths which are cut to suit the particular requirements of a specied installation and which must be connected to conventional fittings to establish circuit from a source of electrical current to appliances or the like. This disadvantage is overcome by the structure of the present invention which has for another of its objects the provision of a flat duct of a predetermined length having a plurality of connector flttings embodied therein so as to facilitate its being connected easily and quickly to a source of electrical current and to one or more appliances or to enable a plurality \of such lengths to be connected end to end.

Another object is to provide a duct for electrical conductors of the kind exemplified herein, which is inexpensive to manufacture and which may be prefabricated in whole or in part at the place of manufacture and, if prefabricated in part only, which may easily and quickly be assembled and installed in little time and at small expense.

Other and further objects of thepresent invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustratedv in the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show preferred embodiments and the principle thereof and which wev now consider to be the best modes in which we have contemplated applying that principle. Other embodiments of the invention the same or v invention and f ing an installation embodying features of this invention;

Fis. 2 is a sectional view, in' perspective, showing an' installation substantially like that i1lus.

trated in Fig. 1 but embodying amodied construction;

between its longitudinal margins and the rows ci Astitches Il so as to thereby provide longitudinal Fig. 3 is a sectional view, in perspective. illustrating yet another embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view, in perspective. showing still another modified form of construction; Fig. 5 is a topplan view of a plurality of lengths of prefabricated duct, embodying features of the invention, illustrating the manner by which the lengths may be interconnected;

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view Io f the duct installationillustrated in Fig. 5;

Fig. '7 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view' through an end of a length of duct as shown in Figs'. 5 and 6, and showing an interconnecting.

andappliance connectingreceptacle in detail; I

and

Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view, taken substantially on line 8 8 on Fig. '1.

The duct of the present invention preferably is fashioned in strips of lengths which may be handled conveniently and which receive electrical conductors within a longitudinal channel lo: cated between the side margins of the strips. 'I'he margins are substantially triangular in section to aord a gradual rise from the longitudinal edges of the strip transversely to the top edges of the walls of the channel. Such a structure provides a duct which gradually increases in thickness as its center is approached sov as to thereby afford v'a lsmooth top surface contourA which will not obstruct the movement of articles across the surface on which it is laid. and further, one which will not cause a pronounced bulge `or ridge to be evident in a floor covering laid thereover. The duct of the present invention further is designed to be easily and cheaply prefabricated of inexpensive material and laid by persons not skilled in the construction or assembly of such articles or it may be partially prepockets eachto receive a stiiiening element I5.

The stiifening element I5 may be fashioned from strips of wood, plastic, or any other suitable tough shape retaining material, and each is substantially triangular in section. The elements I5 are, as shown, o f suilicient sectional area to completely fill the pockets in which they are received so that the material of the top strip I2 is drawn substantially taut thereover. The elements I5 are arranged with their relatively wide or base edges disposed inwardly toward each other to provide vertical walls for the medial `longitudinal chan nel I6 formed therebetween and gradually inclined-surfaces extending from the top edges of the channel walls downwardly towards the -respective longitudinal margins of the Joined woven strips Hand I2. In Fig. l the dotted lines Il' indicate the top edges of the side walls of the channel i6. d

A ,third strip of tough woven material IT laid over the assembly described hereinabove, and this strip is secured along one margin to the duct preferably by a row of stitches I9 and when laid over'the duct it may be cemented or glued or otherwise retained-in place. The strip I1 may be secured in position in the just described manner at the time of fabrication of four ,novel device, and in this event the electrical conductors will .need to be threaded into the channel adapted to receive the same. It will, th'erefore, usually be desirable to secure the third 4strip i1 in position after the device is installed in its position of use and .the'electrical conductors have been described is inexpensive to manufacture and may pockets to receive stiflening elements which also' 80 -serve to impart the required configuration to the device, andalso to provide a protecting channel into which one or more electrical conductors may be laid and concealed. Specically, the duct inciudes a bottom layer or strip II, preferably of tough woven material, and a second strip I 2'oi like material superposed thereover, and the two strips are secured together along their complemental margins by longitudinal rows oi' stitches I3. 'I'he second or tcp strip I2 is slightly wider than the bottom strip II and its medial area. I2" is secured flat tothe underlying medial area of the bottom strip II by two or more transversely spaced longitudinal rows of stitches Il. Hence...

be laid easily and quicklygto accommodate and vbecause of the relative iiatness and the gradual rise towardlthe longitudinal center, the duct may v- `be substantially concealed beneath a iioor cover*-` ing. When laid in an exposed position on a surface, the duct does not offer serious obstruction to, nor willd it be easily damaged by, the move- `ment of articles thereover. If desired, the duct may be cemented to the surface on which it is laid as by a cement 20. j

'Ihe embodiment of the present 'invention illustrated in Fig. -2 is substantiallyL like that illustrated in Fig. 1 and where elements disclosed in Fig. 2 correspond to those illustrated and described withreference te Fig. 1', the same reference character is applied to corresponding ele.

ments but the suillx a is added to these reference.

bridges the underlying conductor receiving chan-l nel ISa in which the conductors I :8a are adapted tobehoused. f

is partly prefabricated at the time of manufacture and is intended for assembly at the time of installation. Here again where elements appear in Fig. 3 that .correspond to elements shown in. Figs. 1 and 2 the same referencecharacter is.ap-

plied to; corresponding elementsv inthese three views but inFIg. 3 the sumx b is added to the reference lcharacters. Thus, in this embodiment..

two stifleliins` elements IIb, formed of tough the excess material in the top stri-p I2 is confined 75 shape retaining material, such as wood or the protect electrical conductqrs as I8. Moreover.'

'I'he duct illustrated in Fig.j3 is of a .kind that like, are arranged on the door surface in spaced relation to each other to provide an electrical conductor receiving channel Ib. The elements preferably are secured in place by cement 20h, anda strip I'Ib of tough woven material is laid thereover. The strip Hb is of sufficient width so that its longitudinal margins extend beyond th outside edges of the stiifening elements lib an they are cemented to the floor surface so as toretain the strip I 1b taut.

` The embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 4 also is a, partially prefabricated constructo provide a bottom membrane 23. Triangularlyshaped stiifening elements I 5c then are laid over the membrane 23 in spaced relation one to the other and one -margin I2c of the woven material is folded over the top of the stiffening strips. 'I'he portion of the woven material bridging the gap between the stiifening members is pressed downwardly into the gap so as to thereby provide a lining for the longitudinal electrical conductor receiving channel |60. The electrical conductors' llc may then be laid in the channel itc. The

other marginal portion of the Woven material is- L constructed in the various fashions herein disclosed are made up in convenient lengths and that they may be provided with outlet receptacles to establish electrical connections between adjacent lengths andwith electrical appliances. In instances where the ducts are constructed for on the Job fabrication, he electrical conductors may be laid therein in the electrical conductors may be strung therein. However, in installations of wholly prefabricated and prewired ducts, means are provided at the ends of each length of duct to effect an electrical connection with the adjacent duct. Accordingly, dualY appliance cord and interconnecting receptacles of a kind illustrated in Figs. 5 to 8, inclusive, may be incorporated in the prefabricated ducts. In general, each duct section preferably has an appliance cord and interconnecting receptacle 28 or 21 at each end. These receptacles are identical except that end of a length oi the receptacle 21 at is a female element the receptacle 2B at one so that abutted ends of adjacent lengths may be electrically connected.

Asbest shownin Figs. 'I and 8, the appliance cord and interconnecting receptacles may each consist of a block of insulation material of a size to fit snugly into the end of a channel it and, if desired, secured thereto by suitable means as the staples 28. The male receptacle illustrated has two prongs 29 anchored in said block and arranged to receive the bared ends of the conduc-v tors I 8 which may be electrically secured therein as by set screws 3|. In the instance of a female appliance, -members `similar to the prong members 29 areprovided. but in that instance they duct is a male element andthe' other end of said length tion. Here a relatively wide strip of tough woven material is aorded which may be secured to a floor surface, preferably by cement 20c, thereby are recessed to receive the prongs of the complemental male receptacle. In either event, each member 2l has a resilient blade l2 of electri cally conductive material extending upwardly therefrom into a prong opening I3 in the block to be engaged by the prongs of an appliance cord plug 3l. Normally. the prong openings 33 are concealed by the top covering on the duct but, when any one or more of the receptacles are to be used as outlets, the covering is pierced to expose the openings I3.

While we have shown and described dual appliance cord and interconnecting receptacles, it will be understood that the appliance cord con/S necting aspect of these devices could be elimi nated without departing from the purview of our invention. In such instance, the members at opposite ends of each duct length would respectively include male and female arrangements as described above so as toythereby enable and facilitate interconnection of adjacent duct lengths. Moreover, it will be understood that appliance cord connecting elements could be provided in the conductor receiving channels other than at the ends thereof so as to thereby afford 'a plurality of places whereat an electrical appliance or the like could be connected to conductors housed within the d-uct.

When a duct of the aforesaid manner is cemented or otherwise suitably secured on a door surface, articles may be readily rolled thereover without damage either to the duct or the conductors housed therein. l Furthermore, because of conventional fashion; that ,is, after the duct sections are laid. continuous the inclined side marginal portions of the duct the devices such as chairs and the like may be readily moved across the duct. Yet, further, and particularly because of the inclined marginal portions, the likelihood of persons `tripping on the duct when it is cemented to a floor is obviated. 1

It willtherefore be understood from the foregoing description that a duct arranged in the v manner hereinabove described enables the above set forth and related objects of this invention to be realized. Therefore, while we have illustrated and described preferred embodiments of our invention, it is 'to be understood that these are capable of variation and modification and we therefore do not wish to be limited to the pre. cise details set forth but desire to avail ourselves of such changesand alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims. l

We claim: l. A duct for insulated electrical conductors comprising, an elongated member having a longitudinal channel in lits top face to receive the conductors therein, the top surface of said member being inclined from the top edges of the channel walls downwardly and outwardly toward the longitudinal edges of said member, and a ilap disposed to overlie the inclined top surfaces and bridge the channel.

2. A duct for insulated electrical conductors comprising, an elongated member having a lon- Bitudinal channel in its top face to receive the the conductors aman, un top mme o: snamember being inclined substantially from the top edges` of the channel walls downwardly and outwardly toward the longitudinal edges of said member, a strip of material arranged over the top surfaces of said .member and bridging thechannel, said strip being hingedly connected along one`longitudinal edge thereof to a longitudinal margin of said member.

4. In axduct for insulated electrical conductors. a base formed of two elongated strips of nexible material having their compleinentalv margins joined by a pair of spaced rows of stitches disposed one adjacent each of said margins, at least two longitudinal rows of stitches joining said strips inwardly of said margins, stiii'ening memtneehemiei ssidvennestnp hsvmganmsea I connection with said base.

- versely bers arrangedbetween. the two strips of mat'erial one between each-inner row oi.' stitches and the respective marginal row'of stitches, said stiifening members being substantially triangular in section and havingtheir apex edges disposed toward the respective margins t0 provide a rela- .f

of stitches securing the two strips of fabric together between said members to deiine aconductor receiving channel, the members being substantially triangular in section and having their base edges disposed toward each other to provide considerable depth to-said channel, and a covering strip to overlie the channel.

6. In la. duct for insulated electrical conductors, a base formed of two elongated strips of fabric arrangedbne over the other, a row of stitches securing the complemental'niargins of said strips together, two stifiening members inserted between the two strips of fabric, said members'be- '7. A duct for insulated electrical conducto!! comprising, an elongated ilexible member formed of two thi of material having two trans-- spaced pockets coextensive with its length, a stiifening l stantially triangular in section and having their base edges disposed toward each otherto provide a channel therebetween to receive the electrical conductors, and a ilexibie cover bridging said channel.

8. 'A duct for insulated electrical conductors comprising, an elongated member having a. longitudinal channel in its top tace to receive the conductors therein. the top surface of said member being. inclined Substantially from 'the 150D edges of the channel walls downwardly and'outwardly toward lthe longitudinal edges 'of said member, a iiexible 'flap joined to a longitudinal edge of surfaces and bridge the channel, and a reinforcing strip on said nap to be disposed over the channel when the nap is in place thereover.

uit-duct. for insulated electrical conductors comprising. a pair of elongated members substantially triangular in section, said members being arranged on a surface with their base edges disposed toward but spaced from each othergto define sidewalls oi a channel to receive the conductors; a' exible covering tor said members, .said covering bridging the channel and having its margins disposed over and substantially pargsw' allel to said surface, and means disposed between -each of said margins and said surface to secure said margins to said surface to maintain the covering taut.

10. A duct for insulated electrical conductors comprising, a strip of exible material, means to secure a longitudinal area of said strip inwardly of its margins to a surface. a. pair of transversely spaced stiil'eningV members arranged on said secured area, al covering for said strip provided 43. by one marginalarea of the strip. said covering ing spaced apart transversely, means securing the two strips of fabric together between said members to denne a, conductor receiving chan nel, thexnembers being substantially triangular in section and having their base edges disposed toward each" other to provide considerable depth to said channel, and a coveringstrip to overlie extending across and being depressed into the gap between said stiffenlng members, a second covering provided by the other marginal area of said strip overlying said iirst mentioned covering and bridging said gap, and means to secure said second cover in place to retain it taut.

Lax MIGmsT. aaxa. wmnnas.

member inserted in each of shid pockets, 'said stiiiening members being sub-- said member to overlie the inclined top v 

